Agroecological Concepts Research Articles

The Generative Potential of Tensions within Belgian Agroecology

Food crises and ecologization have given rise to a Belgian dynamic that does not behave according to the conventional tripod of agroecology: practitioners, social movement, and scientists. Instead of simply recounting the history of Belgian agroecology, the authors trace the history and dynamics in Belgium), a journey along six strands that weave themselves into a Belgian tapestry: Genetically modified crop commandos, a scientific paradigm shift, hybrid expertise opening the Northern route that intersects with a Southern political route, an original non-institutional dynamic in the French-speaking part of Belgium and an institutional initiative that led to a rift in Flanders. In the following section, we identify, emerging from those six strands, four tensions that create a space of innovations, namely, politically differentiated discourses, land access, fair price, and epistemic tensions. We discuss then the generative potential of the 4 tensions and describe the potential of reconfigurations generated by boundaries organizations, food justice and transdisciplinarity. We conclude that the concept of agroecology continues to have transformative potential in Belgium today. However, no one can predict the course of such a largely non-institutional dynamic.

Development of the Concept of Agroecology in Europe: A Review

The concept of Agroecology is still not widely discussed in European countries. Therefore, the aim of this review is to present a qualitative and quantitative mixed analysis of this conceptualization based on research papers to provide initial answers to the following questions: How has the agroecology been used in terms of social movement, science and agricultural practice in the European countries? At which scales has it been applied? Which factors have influenced its application? Speech analysis and multivariable techniques are applied to systematized information. According to found results, the concept of agroecology is mainly conceived as science, then as practice and to a lesser degree as a social movement. There is a predominance of studies at plot level, with a tendency to include physical-biological factors; and at agroecosystem, regional and agri-food system levels, including designers, landscapes and consumers. There is a conceptual evolution in extensive quantitative and intensive qualitative standings when the agroecology incorporates more factors, such as economic, social, and, to a lesser extent, cultural and political, and becomes more transdisciplinary as a response to more complex phenomena that support the genesis and development of this concept. In this regard, a greater balance between its conceptions (science, practice and social movement) is recommended to achieve a better dialogue between abstract and empirical levels.

Cover Crops as an Agroecological Practice on Organic Vegetable Farms in Wisconsin, USA

Global agricultural and food systems face the challenge of feeding a growing world population in the face of finite and diminishing resources. To guide the redesign of agricultural systems, farmers and policymakers are increasingly turning to agroecology. Organic agriculture has historically integrated agroecological practices within its regulatory framework; however, questions remain as to the extent to which organic farmers are maintaining and expanding agroecological practices. In this paper, we will address convergences and divergences of agroecological and organic practices. Using cover cropping as a model agroecological practice, we conduct a preliminary assessment on the degree to which organic vegetable farms in Wisconsin, USA are integrating agroecological concepts into their farm management, drawing upon the results of a 2013 cover cropping practice survey. The survey data demonstrates varying degrees of complexity and diversity in cover cropping practices, potentially illustrating the desire of organic farmers to promote a high degree of agroecosystem services. Farmers’ integration of cover crop diversity and complexity was not correlated to farm size or revenue. These results offer preliminary evidence that Wisconsin’s organic vegetable farmers are integrating agroecological practices on their farms, even as growth in the organic market continues to occur.

Towards sustainable food systems: the concept of agroecology and how it questions current research practices. A review

Introduction. Multiple environmental and socio-economic indicators show that our current agriculture and the organization of the food system need to be revised. Agroecology has been proposed as a promising concept for achieving greater sustainability. This paper offers an overview and discussion of the concept based on existing literature and case studies, and explores the way it questions our current research approaches and education paradigms. Literature. In order to improve the sustainability of agriculture, the use of external and chemical inputs needs to be minimized. Agroecological farming practices seek to optimize ecological processes, thus minimizing the need for external inputs by providing an array of ecosystem services. Implementing such practices challenges the current structure of the food system, which has been criticized for its lack of social relevance and economic viability. An agroecological approach includes all stakeholders, from field to fork, in the discussion, design and development of future food systems. This inclusion of various disciplines and stakeholders raises issues about scientists and their research practices, as well as about the education of the next generation of scientists. Conclusions. Agroecology is based on the concept that agricultural practices and food systems cannot be dissociated because they belong to the same natural and socio-economic context. Clearly, agroecology is not a silver-bullet, but its principles can serve as avenues for rethinking the current approaches towards achieving greater sustainability. Adapting research approaches in line with indicators that promote inter- and transdisciplinary research is essential if progress is to be made.

The agro-ecologie of the soils: Concept, wine application, example of France / L'agro-écologie des terroirs : concept, application viticole, exemple de la France

Agro-ecology is a way of practicing agriculture by as well as possible using the operation and the resources of nature while preserving its capacitances of renewal. This approach mainly aims at reconciling agricultural development, environmental protection and biodiversity. In France, following a report coordinated by Mr. Guillou, this approach was encouraged at the end of 2012 by the Ministry for Agriculture, the Agroecology and the Forest with for objective reconciling economic and social environmental performances. For the viticulture, the challenges relate mainly to the reduction of the use of the plant health products. Within this framework, beyond the tweaking of the application of the plant health products, the vineyards must develop agro-ecological structures favorable to the biodiversity and valorization of the landscapes, support of eco-winetourism. They are made up, essentially, of the hedges, thickets, trees isolated and aligned, managed tapes buffers, low walls, benches. This topic was the object of a European program BIODIVINE (www.biodivine.eu) associated with operations of demonstration in various vineyards in France, Spain and in Portugal. The communication aims to define the concept of agro-ecology and to formalize to leave the experiment France the application to the vine terroirs.

Clarifying the socioeconomic dimensions of agroecology: between principles and practices

ABSTRACTThe concept of agroecology is being mobilized increasingly. However, its socioeconomic dimensions receive little attention from academia. This study helps to clarify the socioeconomic principles of agroecology by first identifying a list of principles in popular and scientific literature and, as a second step, by putting the principles to the test of a qualitative study of two Belgian organizations. Agribio is a grain cooperative, and Les Grosses Légumes is a network of consumers, farmers, and the members of an association set up to organize the production and distribution of vegetable boxes. Semi-directed interviews of the various actors linked to these organizations were conducted and then analyzed through an approach inspired by the convention theory in order to reveal the principles that the stakeholders have adopted. The main findings are then made explicit by analysis of four strong agreements (which concern the two organizations’ marketing schemes, a Participatory Guarantee System set up by Les Grosses Légumes and Agribio’s flour mill). The two case studies show the gap that exists between the principles that describe the horizon of agroecology and the principles that are actually put into practice by the parties in the field through various transition pathways.

美国农业生态学发展综述

农业生态学是生态学的一个分支学科,是生态学原理在农业上的具体应用。美国是世界上最大的农业强国。美国农业的发展,得益于农业生态学的理论指导和农业生态学原理的实践运用。在实地调查与研读有关文献资料的基础上,对美国农业生态学的发展进行了考察与分析,认为:(1)美国农业生态学产生于1928年,至今已有85年的发展历史。美国农业生态学可划分为4个发展阶段,即:起始阶段(1928-1961年)、扩展阶段(1962-1979年)、巩固阶段(1980-1999年)和新发展阶段(2000年-)。(2)美国农业生态学的内涵由起初的一门"学科(科学)",逐步向着包括有"过程"、"理念"、"方法"、"行动"、"体系"、"运动"、"实践活动"、"强有力的工具"等多重涵义的方向发展,农业生态学内涵的深度和广度均得到不断丰富和完善。(3)美国农业生态学的基本内容包括背景(农业生态学国际背景)、理论(农业生态学理论基础)、设计(农业生态系统的优化设计)和管理(农业生态学理论的实践应用)等4部分,美国农业生态学具有4个明显特征——视野的全球性、内容的多样性、体系的灵活性和技术的实用性。(4)未来美国农业生态学将朝着"高"(高起点、高标准、高效率、高水平)、"新"(新手段、新方法、新技术,新成果、新成效、新进展)、"长"(长期观察分析、长期资料积累、长期定位试验)、"多"(农业生态学研究与分析采用多点、多地、多样本、多模式、多途径、多指标、多方法)、"实"(联系实际、注重实践、讲求实效、展现实绩)的方向发展。;As a branch discipline of ecology, agroecology is the study of ecological processes that operate in agricultural production systems.Some scientists believe that agroecology is the application of ecological theory to agriculture.The United States is the largest agricultural superpower in the world.One major reason for the successful development of American agriculture is the guidance of agroecological theory and practice of agroecological principles.Based on a wide-ranging investigation and review of relevant academic materials on agroecology, the authors explore and analyze the development of American agroecology from aspects of its emergence and development, connotation and change, content and characteristics, trends and prospects.The primary results are as follows.<br>(1) The agroecology discipline was introduced in the United States in 1928.Since then, agroecology has had 85 years of development in that country.In the United States, this development can be divided into four stages: initial (1928-1961), when Klages first suggested the concept of agroecology in 1928; expansion (1962-1979), which saw publication of the famous book <em>Silent Spring</em>; consolidation (1980-1999), during which scientists published numerous works on agroecology in the United States; and new (2000-present), during which agroecology developed new models, such as sustainable and alternative agriculture.<br>(2) In the United States, the connotation of agroecology was initially a subject of science or a discipline, and it has gradually developed to have multiple meanings, such as a process, idea, method, action, system, movement, or practice.Stephen Gliessman, Chief Editor of the Journal of Sustainable Agriculture, believes agroecology is a powerful tool to sustain food safety and sovereignty.The depth and breadth of meanings associated with agroecology are being continuously enriched and perfected.<br>(3) The basic content of agroecology in the United States consists of four parts: background (including international agroecological background), theory (the basic theory of agroecology), design (the design and optimization of an agroecosystem), and management (the practice and application of agroecological theory).Agroecology in the United States has four distinct characteristics: (i) global view: agricultural ecologists in that country observe from a global perspective, and analyze agricultural development around the world and problems facing the world food supply; (ii) diversity of content: there are many different connotations from published works on agroecology in the United States; (iii) system flexibility: the agroecological disciplinary system has different characteristics and styles within the United States; and (iv) putting technology into practice: many examples, models and technologies published in agroecological works are summarized from a practical production standpoint in the United States.<br>(4) In the future, the development directions and trends of agroecology in the United States will be: high, i.e., high starting points, high standards, high efficiency, and high level; new, i.e., new approaches, new methods, new technologies, new achievements, new results, and new progress; long-term, i.e., long-term observation and analysis, long-term accumulation of information, and long-term field experimentation; many, i.e., in research and analysis of agricultural ecology, multiple points, multiple sites, multi-samples, multi-modes, multi-channels, multiple indexes, and multiple methods; and practical, i.e., linking theory with practice, stressing pragmatism in practice, and demonstrating performance.

Supporting food security in the 21st century through resource-conserving increases in agricultural production

The Green Revolution was accomplished under a set of demographic, economic, climatic and other conditions in the 20th century that have been changing and will surely be different and more difficult in the decades ahead. The suitability and sustainability of any given agricultural technology depends on factors like resource availability and productivity, energy costs, and environmental constraints. The achievements of Green Revolution technologies in the 1960s and 1970s came at a critical time of impending food shortages, and the world’s people would be worse off without them. However, the rate of yield improvement for cereal production has been slowing since the mid-1980s. Looking ahead at the foreseeable circumstances under which 21st century agricultural producers must try to assure food security, there will be need for technologies that are less dependent on resources that are becoming relatively scarcer, like arable land and water, or becoming relatively more costly, like energy and petrochemical-based inputs. This paper considers agroecologically-based innovations that reduce farmers’ dependence on external inputs, relying more on endogenous processes and existing potentials in plants and soil systems. Such resource-conserving production represents a different approach to meeting food security goals. While these innovations are not yet fully understood and are still being researched, there are good agronomic reasons to account for their effectiveness, and scientific validations are accumulating. Enough successes have been recorded from making changes in the management of plants, soil, water and nutrients that more attention from researchers, policy-makers and practitioners is warranted, especially given the need to adapt to, and to mitigate the effects of, climate change. The same agroecological concepts and management methods that are enhancing factor productivity in rice production are giving similar results with other crops such as wheat, finger millet, sugarcane, mustard, and tef. Genetic potentials are the starting point for any and all agricultural production, and current efforts to improve food security and nutrition through plant breeding efforts should continue. However, future research and production strategies could beneficially seek to capitalize on biological processes and potentials existing within crops and in their supporting soil systems, rather than focusing so predominantly on making modifications in genetic factors. Scientific advances in the domains of microbiology, soil ecology and epigenetics could foreseeably assist farmers in meeting production and income goals with resource-economizing methods. It remains to be seen to what extent agroecologically-informed methods can help farmers meet expected agricultural production requirements to ensure global food security, but this direction deserves more attention and support.

Agroecology and Alternative Agri-Food Movements in the United States: Toward a Sustainable Agri-Food System

The concept of agroecology in the United States is born out of a dialectical process of co-production of knowledge whereby the science of agroecology has shaped and been shaped by alternative agri-food movements, policy, and local practice. This article examines the relationship between agroecology and alternative agri-food movements and identifies opportunities for greater engagement. The article concludes with a discussion of the challenges and opportunities to scaling up agroecology and sustainable agri-food systems.

The use of emergy assessment and the Geographical Information System in the diagnosis of small family farms in Brazil

In this work, emergy analysis was used in association with the Geographical Information System (GIS) in order to improve the evaluation of family-managed farms that adopt either the ecological or the chemical production models. Three small farms, located in Amparo County, in São Paulo state, Brazil, were studied. One of them, Duas Cachoeiras farm, uses agroecological concepts for its agricultural production. The two others (Santa Helena farm and Três Lagos farm) use the conventional chemical model. In an attempt to improve the precision of the data used in emergy analysis, the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) was incorporated to the GIS tool to calculate the topsoil loss in the farms. The GIS tool also allowed the calculation of the amount of rain water that infiltrates the ground and can recharge the aquifer. This percolated water is a system output and was incorporated in the emergy accounting. Another modification in comparison to previous emergy analyses was that the renewability factor of each input was considered in the emergy accounting. Results showed that the agroecological farm is more sustainable and can be used as a model for small farms in their transition to ecological agriculture. The GIS–emergy tools were used to compare the environmental performance of the four main productive areas of Duas Cachoeiras farm (annual cultures, orchard, forest, and pasture). These results demonstrate the emergy performance of each kind of land use and may be used in watershed planning.

Agroecological aspects of evaluating agricultural R&D

In this paper we describe how biophysical data can be used, in conjunction with agroecological concepts and multimarket economic models, to systematically evaluate the effects of agricultural R&D in ways that inform research priority setting and resource-allocation decisions. Agroecological zones can be devised to help estimate the varying, site-specific responses to new agricultural technologies and to evaluate the potential for research to spill over from one agroecological zone to another. The application of agroecological zonation procedures in an international, agricultural-research context is given special attention, and we propose tailoring the zones to the R&D being evaluated.

Application of agro-ecological concepts and hierarchy theory in the design of databases for spatial and temporal characterisation of land and soil

A hierarchial system for integrating information on soil, climate, landscape and land use at various scales, is discussed. A series of nested data bases at various scales (1:5 million and larger) are prepared, according to the concepts of agro-ecological stratification in combination with the tenets of Hierarchy Theory. Each polygon at each scale is treated as a unique area with its own environmental envelope of integrated information. Transposition between scales and the scientific integrity of the data is accomplished through the nested databases, and by carefully matching the “grain” of the data to the scale of each database. The nested databases are “matched” with a collection of crop growth models and other procedures of data analyses, each of which is specific to a general scale of application, and compatible to one of the available databases. The crop growth models are arranged in increasing detail, as reflected in the structure of the subroutines and time steps, and describe a variety of purposes from estimating yield potential to defining yield variability and production risk. The system is supported by a geographic information system.